Notre Dame women’s basketball has won three straight games and five of their last six at just the right time. The Irish (18-9, 10-6 ACC) are now 25th in the NCAA NET Rankings despite having dropped out of the USA Today Coaches Poll for more than a month.
Junior Hannah Hidalgo continues to standout as one of the nation’s best players as well, having most recently dropped a 31-point, 11-steal double-double Sunday, Feb. 22 in a 25-point win vs. Southern Methodist. Hidalgo was recently named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Week for the sixth time this season for her efforts. She ranks third in the NCAA for points per game with 24.9 and first for steals per game with 5.6.
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Notre Dame women’s basketball NCAA Tournament projections
With Notre Dame’s resume looking better than it has in months, it sits safely in the latest NCAA Tournament mock brackets from ESPN, CBS and NCAA. ESPN’s Charlie Creme projected the Irish as a No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed Rhode Island (24-3, 15-1 Atlantic 10) at No. 2 seed LSU’s Baton Rouge host site.
CBS Sports’ Connor Groel also has Notre Dame as a seven seed vs. the 10-seeded Rams, but his projection lands that matchup at No. 2 seed Iowa’s Iowa City host site. This would be a first-time meeting between the Irish and Rhode Island.
NCAA’s Autumn Johnson has Notre Dame as a No. 8 seed for the second week in a row, facing No. 9 seed Villanova (22-6, 15-4 Big East) at No. 1 seed South Carolina’s Columbia host site. Not only are the Irish and Wildcats scheduled to face each other in the 2026-27 season opener in Rome, Italy, but they used to be Big East Conference rivals before Notre Dame moved to the ACC in 2013.
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The most recent game between Notre Dame and Villanova came in the 2018 NCAA Tournament Round of 32, where the Irish beat the Wildcats 98-72 on the road to their eventual national championship victory.
2 games left before (ACC) tournament time
With four Quad I and Quad II wins each, Notre Dame has all but made its case as a lock to make the NCAA Tournament. It would take a monumental collapse – losses in both of its last two regular season games and its first-round ACC Tournament game – to put the Irish on the fringe.
Up next is a home finale Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. vs. Syracuse (21-6, 11-5 ACC). After that, Notre Dame travels to No. 11 Louisville (24-5, 14-2 ACC) Sunday, March 1 at 4 p.m. for the last game of the regular season on ESPN2.
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More: Follow here for Notre Dame women’s basketball 2025-26 season coverage
If the Irish can beat the Orange in South Bend, it takes a lot of pressure off them against a Cardinals squad that already beat Notre Dame by 13 points. As things stand, the Irish are a No. 9 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament, matched up against eight-seeded Clemson (19-9, 10-6 ACC). The Tigers beat the Irish, 65-58, Jan. 25 in South Bend.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame women’s basketball bracketology last week of regular season
